Parade Day
by Eternal Contradiction
Summary: Do you remember the excitement and the exhilaration children experience for a parade? Sometimes parades don't conclude as joyous occasions. What happens then, when Heero can't possibly arrive in time?


PARADE DAY  
  
The heat was making her bangs stick to her forehead and a trickle of sweat ran down her little back. Not only was the sun shining unmercifully, but it also was reflecting off the asphalt in waves of invisible heat. The crush of people around her added to the warmth as she stood expectantly clutching her mother's hand. It seemed as if she was standing there for hours as the parade slowly crept by her excited vision.  
  
Her mom had awoke her early that morning and dressed her in a frilly dress she usually wore on Sundays and special occasions. Today was only Thursday and it wasn't anyone's birthday that she knew of. When she asked, her mom said it was a surprise, and she wouldn't be going to pre- school today. Christy hoped there was a good reason for her to miss school; today was popcorn day and she liked to pop and eat it.  
  
They had drove for a long time in the old car her mom kept saying wouldn't last them another month, but they never got a new one. All her friends had shiny cars, but hers was old. She told them not to make fun of her car because it was an antique and very valuable. Other kids could sometimes be really cruel. As they drove her mom re-told stories about princess Relena. Her mom was always talking about the princess, and would tell stories about when they were best friends. There was a scrapbook in their living room full of newspaper-clippings on the princess. Christy was sure there was no one more famous or pretty in the world as her idol. Some day she wanted to grow up to be just like her.  
  
She scuffled her fancy shoes against the sidewalk in boredom. Why had her mom brought her to this boring place? She couldn't even see over the tall man and fat woman in front of her. She yawned and wished she was in bed, or eating popcorn. She caught flashes of color between the legs of tubbo, and wished she could be in front. The crowd all started to talk at once as another float rounded the corner.  
  
Her mom pushed her towards the front and told her to look very closely at who was on the float. She shyly pushed her way through the throngs of people, curiosity motivating her to get closer. She reached the rail set in place to keep people off the street. The medal was hot against her chin as she leaned against it and looked up at the float. Relena was regally sitting atop on a gilded throne as she wove to the crowd. The smile pasted on her face covered her stiff muscles and boredom. Christy started to cry with pleasure; this was the day she had looked forward to more than all.  
  
She jumped up and down and waved madly, trying to get Relena's attention. She could have sworn the princess looked right at her and smiled for her only. At this moment Relena was trying to figure out exactly where Heero was in the sky. He had taken the Preventor stealthicopter and was monitoring the parade from the sky, relatively invisible to those below. None of them figured this parade would be dangerous, but they always were cautious. This time they would have been wrong.  
  
Christy grinned from the sidelines and wove her way through people for a few meters, following the float. The reflection of light glaring off a reflective surface caught her in the eyes and for a moment she was blinded by white light. She heard the bang, and could feel the crowd shift around her. She hated crowds, and someone wasn't wearing their deodorant today!  
  
When she opened her eyes they flew back to the princess, but she wasn't on the float. Her eyes scanned the area for her idol as she wondered what went wrong. She knew something was wrong but her young mind couldn't piece it all together. Then she found the princess. Relena was lying on the ground struggling to get up while holding her side. A pool of blood had soaked through the multi-layered skirt of her inappropriately heavy gown. The skirts kept hampering her movements, but no one tried to help her. Everything was in pandemonium as people tried to flee for their lives. No more shots were fired, but obviously one was enough.  
  
Tears began to trickle down Christy's face as she wrung her hands. Someone pushed her into the guardrail and she fell to the ground. Before anyone could trample her, she crawled underneath and struggled to her feet. She ran the short distance to the fallen princess and knelt beside her. Relena grabbed her side again, more in an attempt to cover the blood than in pain. The sudden movement was a mistake and the wound started to throb harder. She winced and tried to get up again, but she didn't have much blood left to give her the energy she needed.  
  
"Can I help you get up, your majesty?" Relena almost grinned at the breathless little voice and the cherub face looking at her in awe. She struggled not to show her pain to the little girl.  
  
The little girl tugged at her hand and succeeded to hurt Relena more. With this new motivation to show the girl she really was helpful, Relena managed to get to her feet and lean against the float.  
  
"My mommy says that even though those meanies took away your title, that you still are as regal as a queen." Relena pulled the little girl beside her as a group of upside-down clowns ran by. One of the feet flopped over and smacked against Relena's side. She stumbled and knocked Christy to the ground. The bent over clown continued to run a few steps then got trampled by a horse that had knocked its rider out of the saddle.  
  
The horse continued on the rampage and shifted its direction right towards the little girl. Christy was scared of the ugly clown, but even more scared of the horse; at least the clown feet hadn't killed her. With a burst of adrenaline Relena pushed herself away from the side of the float and grabbed a stunned Christy out of the way. She then grabbed the reins of the passing horse and managed to pull both of them up with a great amount of difficulty.  
  
Christy gasped in surprise. She had never been on a horse before, and to top it off she had never been on a horse with a princess- except in her childish fantasies. Her faerie-tale ideas came to a halt as she heard Relena gasp for breath behind her. Somehow Relena had subdued the horse to a trot, but they weren't making much headway due to the crowd. The horse was shaking its head impatiently and hit a baton twirler on the ear.  
  
Relena leaned over and stroked the horse's neck firmly while commanding it to be still. The animal whinnied and sidestepped before coming to a complete stop. Christy tried to stroke the horse like Relena had as the princess's attention was on the sky. The horse didn't respond to her light touch and the little girl shifted uncomfortably on her perch. The back of her dress was absorbing blood as it rubbed against the gun wound.  
  
Over the noise of people screaming and the cries and footsteps of the fleeing, came a distinct calling. Each syllable was pronounced perfectly so there would be no mistake as to whom the words were meant for. Relena raised her face to the sky as if searching for something.  
  
Christy was startled when Relena called out "HEERO!" then collapsed due to loss of blood. As her cherub face was pressed against the neck of the horse, and Relena's weight pinned her painfully, Christy wondered why she would call for that man. Heero was the enemy; the one her mom said was always trying to kill the princess.  
  
She struggled under the mass of the unconscious royal body. The horse smelled and felt itchy against her cheek. As if it sensed it was no longer being controlled, the horse leapt forward. In a split second Relena started to fall off the horse. Christy's youthful strength tried to hold her up, but it wasn't possible. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a man appear out of nowhere and stop the horse in its tracks.  
  
He then scooped Relena up before she could land and sunk to the ground with her in his arms. Cradling her head on his lap he inspected the wound on her side. Christy scrambled off the horse, practically falling 2 meters, and walked hesitantly towards this gentle man. Heero looked up for a moment and noticed the little girl for the first time.  
  
She stopped, afraid to come any closer. The cold ice of this man's eyes protested against the caring she had thought he felt. She knew this man had to be Heero, the killer. An icy chill raced down her spine.  
  
The unconscious woman whispered Heero's name as she began to revive. Still cradling her, he brushed a strand of hair off her cheek.  
  
"You'll be fine Relena. The bullet missed all organs and bones." She nuzzled her cheek into his open palm. "If you keep up this kind of activity you'll have as many battle scars as I do, without ever going into battle."  
  
Christy watched a light smile cross Relena's features; she was hopelessly confused about what to think- so she watched.  
  
A mime ran up from behind Heero. "Whoa, Heero, did you just make a joke? How is she? I thought I was going to choke on my tongue when you jumped out of the stealthicopter from 25 stories up. As always you both manage to live. It took me a while to get here. sorry buddy. Everyone is running in all directions and I only heard the shot from a block up. Everyone is talking about it. I saw it all on the news in a store as I ran by. Now that was cool."  
  
Christy didn't know what to think of this mime who wouldn't shut up.  
  
"Duo. mimes don't talk. If you don't shut up and let her rest, I'll cut off your tongue and eat it raw." Christy's eyes went wide. She was right about this mean man.  
  
"Come on. you're scaring the little girl." Correctly reading the cause of the fear in her eyes Duo got on his knees in front of her. "Hi, I'm Duo, what name goes with your cute little face."  
  
"Christy," She said shyly. She spied his braid coiled lightly on the ground and picked it up. "Is this real?" She accented by yanking it brutally. When he squinted one eye in pain she gleefully yelled, "Yep it is."  
  
"What a sweet little girl." He picked her up and went over to the horse. "I saw you on TV today. You were almost trampled by this beast." He ran a hand down the horse's nuzzle. The horse snorted and pushed him lightly with his nose. "Sometimes Christy, the most feared and dangerous animals can occasionally be the most gentle ones of all."  
  
"I'm not scared of the horse."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because princess Relena wasn't 'fraid of it either."  
  
"Do you think she's right not to be afraid?"  
  
"She's always right."  
  
"Well not always, I could tell you some stories. but the point is she usually is right. I noticed how scared you were of Heero, but you know what, Heero is just like this horse."  
  
"You mean he likes to eat your braid too?"  
  
Duo yelped and grabbed his braid out of the horse's chomping teeth. He scowled at the frayed ends and swallowed his curses. "No, I mean Relena knows he's not dangerous all the time, especially to her. He's really just pretending to be mean because he thinks people will think he's weak if he's nice. He's just a big fake."  
  
"Is his gun fake?"  
  
"No his gun is real. He uses it against bad guys. He may pretend to be mean to people he likes, but to people he hates, he really is mean." He looked at her confused scrunched up face. "Well what I'm saying is, if he hadn't liked me, he really would have cut off my tongue and ate it. or shot me."  
  
"What if he doesn't like me?"  
  
"He doesn't go hurting innocent little girls. He just acts gruff and mean. I know someone named Wufei who acts the same." He tickled the tip of her nose with his braid. She liked Mr. Duo. He was funny and nice and talked to her so she could understand.  
  
"So if Mr. Heero is like a horse, will he give me a horsy ride?"  
  
"Ask him later why don't you. I can give you one now." Duo flipped her over onto his back and galloped around in a circle. Christy laughed in glee and giggled as he neighed loudly.  
  
A huge chicken stepped in front of them with his wings on his hips. "Maxwell, stop your gallivanting at once and act like a man."  
  
Christy burst into tears and pointed with a wavering hand towards the offending man. "The mean giant ugly bird-man is scary. *sob* Make him stop Duo-chan."  
  
Wufei's bird-eye twitched as he exclaimed incredulously, "A little girl!"  
  
"Yes Wufei, I'm sure you've seen them before. I'm still trying to prove that you were one for the first 4 years of your life. Come on Christy, let's go see Relena again before someone lays an egg."  
  
"Maxwell!"  
  
"Click, clang- Chang."  
  
"Mr. Duo, is that man really a freaky bird?"  
  
As Wufei steamed a few feet away Duo broke into a big grin. "No. For the parade he's just dressed to resemble one."  
  
"Resemble?"  
  
"It means he's like one, but not really one."  
  
"Ok, I get it. Why is chicken-man following us, and can I see him lay an egg before he gets normal again?"  
  
"Wufei is a friend of Relena's, and he does look like he's going to lay an egg, doesn't he?"  
  
She nodded as they rounded the corner to find Relena being put on a stretcher. Heero stood up glaring. "Where have you been? Relena was worried about the little girl."  
  
"Duo-chan was just explaining to me how you resemble a horse." Christy grinned at Heero; pleased with the new word she had learned. If looks could kill.  
  
Relena chortled from her place on the stretcher and Christy looked up from where she had hid herself from Heero on Duo's shoulder. The stretcher started to lift into the air, carrying Relena onto the stealthicopter. Hands appeared midair to pull Relena into the aircraft.  
  
Heero looked satisfied with the process of lifting the princess to the hospital. He saluted and turned to Duo. Christy started to squirm on her perch in an attempt to get away. Heero scooped her up and set her gently on the ground. Getting down on one knee he surprised them all by taking something out of a hidden jacket pocket.  
  
Wufei puffed up in his fifty-pound chicken suit and gasped. "Heero, don't shoot the little girl! Where are your morals, there is no justice in that."  
  
"I'm not going to shoot her." He said unemotionally. "I'm going to reward her." He opened his hand to show a frayed tiny blue ribbon. The color was fading from years of touch and spotted with blood. Christy touched it apprehensively.  
  
"Its old."  
  
"Yes. I stole it from Relena the first time we met and I've carried it with me ever since." He took one of the ragged corners and ripped a thin thread of the length of the ribbon. He tied this small piece of love around Christy's wrist and placed the rest of the treasure back in his pocket. He refused to give up the whole band.  
  
"I'm giving this to you because you helped Relena today, and maybe saved her life. Its really special to me and the only thing I own worth giving a little girl."  
  
He swung around and mounted a motorcycle an officer had waiting for him as requested. With the starting of the powerful engine and strapping on a helmet, he was off in a cloud of smoke, dust, and parade confetti on his way to the hospital.  
  
Duo picked Christy up with wide eyes and turned to Wufei. "Heero is getting sentimental in his old age. That was one of the scariest things I've ever seen. Did you know he had that? Its kinda sweet. romantic even. Awww.."  
  
A few blocks away Heero put his hand over his heart and could almost feel the texture of the silk ribbon through his jacket as he raced towards Relena. As always his face was set in a scowl.  
  
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Kawaii? Stupid? Should I continue? Review and let me know.  
  
Look for other stories by Relena Fanel AKA Eternal Contradiction: This is Not My Day Clinic's Therapy Preventor's Grapevine Must I Kill You?!? Everything I Do Valentine's Day Showdown I Am Not In Love With Heero Yuy Clow Tablets Shadow Man; The Dawn  
  
Email me at relenafanel@hotmail.com  
  
Visit my site @ http://www.geocities.com/relenafanel to read or submit some Hilarious/Romantic Gundam Wing Stories. 


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